1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc loading-and-unloading structure for a disc apparatus having rolls arranged at the both sides of a disc insert slot thereof for carrying and putting a disc on a turntable of the apparatus and for removing from the turntable and carrying the disc outside of the apparatus by rotating those rolls.
2. Related Art
In a disc apparatus recording or reproducing of data in a disc is performed by putting the disc on the turntable and rotating it. There are two different disc loading-and-unloading methods principally; one is to use a disc tray going in and out of a tray insert slot for carrying and put the disc on the turntable; and the other is to pull in a disc directly when the disc is inserted from a disc slot made on the front of the apparatus. The present invention relates to the latter type of loading-and-unloading structure.
This type of disc loading-and-unloading structure is disclosed in JP2-7263 (A) titled “Loading Device for CD Player”. The loading device comprises first and second belt drive mechanisms arranged oppositely each having an endless belt running around two rolls, one of which rolls is arranged at the side of the disc insert slot, and a drive motor for driving the endless belts in one or the other direction. The drive motor is operatively connected to at least one of the first and second belt drive mechanisms. The roll-and-belt combinations are articulated with two link rods, which, in turn, are connected both to a single solenoid and to a return spring, by which the articulated roll-and-belt combinations are normally spring-biased toward their original position, where the roll-and-belt combinations are converge toward the disc slot. In response to insertion of a disc the solenoid is energized, pulling both roll-and-belt combinations against the return spring, and pinching the disc therebetween. Then, the drive motor starts rotation to make the roll-and-belt combinations carry the disc inward.
The articulated roll-and-belt combinations are responsive to insertion of a disc from the disc slot for adjustably moving apart from or close to each other, and the moving distance is dependent on what size the disc has and which points of the disc circumference the opposite endless belts touch. The loading device, however, is complicated in structure, and is susceptible to malfunctions.
JP2002-367261 (A) discloses a “Recording Medium Driver”, in which: three rotatable arms each having a roll at its free end are arranged on a circular circumference, and are spring-biased so as to direct their rolls toward the center; and two out of these three arms are so arranged as to put their rolls next to the opposite sides of the disc slot. Thus, their rolls may be applied to a disc when inserted from the disc slot. In loading all the arms move in unison to hold the disc on the circumference under the influence of the spring. This structure, however, does not work with precision because of the imbalance in the resilient forces applied by the rotatable arms to the disc circumference.
In view of the above, one object of the present invention is to provide a disc loading-and-unloading structure, which is simple in structure, still capable of performing all required actions for loading and unloading with precision.